Tag: school climate
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I was really good at “doing school” when I was a kid. I knew all the ins and outs of the academic world and was able to breeze through most of my coursework. I enjoyed the process of learning new things and pushed myself to understand concepts as deeply as possible. Looking back, there is little surprise that I became a teacher.

Fast-forward to my early thirties when I found myself entering into the world of entrepreneurship as a writer. For all my successes in the academic sphere, nothing in that experience had prepared me for the world of business. In particular, when it came to a critical business skill like marketing, I quickly realized I didn’t even know what I didn’t know.

From: The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Blog – Guest Post on behalf of Teach.com – July 5, 2017 – by Sheldon Soper

The educational landscape is awash with initiatives to make learning more authentic and problem-based. For these differentiated approaches to work, students and teachers need networks of support to ensure that students can follow their own felt needs for learning. Who better to support that journey than the modern school librarian?

Forget Dewey decimal quizzes and overdue notices; today’s school librarians are the linchpins for modernizing the educational system. In the era of belt-tightening and budget cuts, school librarians are crucial pieces in the educational infrastructure that need to be both protected and cherished if our students are to receive the best education possible.

More than ever, teachers are called to justify their practice and their decision-making inside the classroom. Whether it is from administrators, parents, or the public, today’s teachers feel the pressure that comes from an increased professional scrutiny. It doesn’t help that the public perception of the teaching profession is increasingly shaped by negative media coverage.

Failing to bear this weight can lead to frustration, decreased job satisfaction, and even full-blown burnout.

What this means is that it falls to teachers to take the reins to close the gap between the perceptions and realities of what is happening in our respective classrooms. Designing classroom structures and workflows that are more transparent helps demonstrate to stakeholders just how much great, innovative work is taking place in the service of student growth.

If you are a teacher or a parent looking to break through a teenager’s screen addiction, nothing is more important than avoiding device hypocrisy yourself.

Technology is everywhere. Digital communication (and the reliance on the devices that go with it) has become a crucial part of the professional and personal lives of most adults. Teenagers see this and are quick to use it to justify their own compulsions to constantly stay logged into their own digital lives. Continue reading